Unmodified ground surfaces hinder the ability to set up quick, stable, level and secure environments for a variety of purposes. For example, outdoor field events such as carnivals, corporate outings, wine tastings, mountain bike races and even military deployments often require booths, tents or other structures with solid and stable flooring from which to manage the event. Particularly if computers or other equipment typically found in an indoor workplace environment are required, it becomes almost essential to provide a more stable, strong, level and secure ground flooring capable of rapid deployment and disassembly. Wet environments such as might be found in the above illustrative cases or in/around hospital settings, for example, also present particular challenges in providing a secure, stable surface which keeps water and other liquids from collecting and interfering with people and equipment moving atop the surface.
Recently, flooring systems and methods have been developed that minimize necessary storage space when not in use or when being transported and minimize pack-up time and effort, while also maintaining sufficient overall strength. Such flooring systems can be adapted to various shapes of ground surfaces and wet environments, including uneven ground. Such flooring systems are described, for example, in our jointly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/253,980, 11/495,791 and granted U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,430, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.